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You may be surprised to learn that 49 percent of companies still rely on a manual expense management process. This data point comes from the recently-released 2018 Expense Management Trends Report by Certify, Inc.

Since 2013, the Expense Management Trends Report has helped organizations of all sizes stay informed of industry trends and best practices from their peers across North America. Tallie is part of the Certify, Inc. Family of Brands—and this year’s report offers valuable insights into the industry.

1. Manual methods are sticking around
Enterprise companies are leading the way in adopting technology according to the report, with 39 percent of companies surveyed using a web-based expense solution, and 32 percent relying on an ERP or accounting package for expense management. These companies are seeing the value in automating timely manual processes—letting their employees focus on other value-added activities.

Surprisingly, 11 percent of enterprise companies surveyed are still using a manual process. (A manual process is defined here as any process that uses Excel spreadsheets, pen and paper, homegrown systems, or any combination thereof.) At a company of this size, the risk and lack of spend visibility would likely make a CFO’s head spin. And without having visibility into expenses, the finance team is left in the dark when strategizing for the years ahead, or negotiating better contracts with vendors today.

2. The biggest pains stay consistent
Expense management pains haven’t evolved much since Certify launched the survey in 2013. For the 2018 report, Certify collected and analyzed responses from 546 CFOs, controllers, and other finance professionals outside its customer base to offer a snapshot of the industry, and where it may be headed. With technology becoming so engrained in our lives, some readers may find it shocking that so many moments of struggle persist in the world of finance.

The biggest pain points for finance teams were losing receipts or submitting reports without a receipt, tying employees failing to submit reports on time cited by 50 percent of respondents. It’s easy to see why finance teams would be frustrated with a minor task holding up reimbursements and accurate reporting—yet this pain persists.

Time spent reconciling, reviewing, and approving reports was the second biggest pain, cited by 31 percent of respondents. With the average number of expense reports being 25-50 percent of the full-time employee workforce, manually reviewing and approving expense reports is a business activity that needs a streamlined process.

Another long-standing pressure on finance teams were errors on expense reports, with 30 percent of respondents citing this ongoing issue. Considering that employees should be submitting completed reports on-time and within policy, finance teams certainly want to spend less time “expense policing” and more time on strategy.

3. The leading pressures and top areas for improvement
Top organizational pressures on finance teams have stayed consistent with previous years. The top pressure driving organizations to improve T&E management was the need to reduce expense reporting costs cited by 27 percent of respondents. Improving the expense management process was cited by 34 percent of respondents as the most critical to improve in 2018.

Poor visibility into travel and expenses was the second biggest pressure (26 percent) driving change with finance teams across North America. Without finance teams having complete visibility into T&E spend, they can’t make informed strategic decisions that will help move the organization towards their goals. With the right integrations, an automated expense solution can provide nearly real-time expense data finance teams can budget against with confidence.

Travel booking was the third biggest area for improvement in 2018. Interestingly, according to the 2018 survey, 90 percent of companies had a travel policy in place, but only two percent of companies used technology to enforce policy—putting the company at a huge risk for overspending with manual policy checks or employee enforcement.

Having business travelers booking itineraries with any number of online services leaves a company at risk for overspending. With a travel book solution that is friendly for employees, travel managers, and everyone in between, you can provide a foundation for self-service bookings that fit within company policy and budget.

Did any of the struggles or organizational pressures sound familiar to you? How often does your team run up against some of the inefficiencies we mentioned above? If you want to make sure your team stays ahead of the pack, be sure to download our complimentary report and stay current with the T&E trends driving the industry.

When Vita Guido walked through the Tallie doors in September of 2014, the team knew they had struck gold. Over the past three years Vita has served as an invaluable asset to the organization, bringing immense product knowledge, contagious positivity, and an uncanny sense of humor to the office every day. We sat down with Vita to learn more about our favorite implementations team manager.

What do you do here at Tallie?

I manage a team of three fabulous implementation specialists. We on-board new Tallie and SpringAhead clients. I oversee the process and make sure we get our clients excited, prepared, and ramped up!

Who is Gizmo?

He’s the Tallie MVP, unofficial mascot, and employee of the year. He’s also my cat.

What is your favorite part of working for Tallie?

The people! I really enjoy working with our Tallie peeps. We are hardworking but have plenty of fun in the office. I also like the flexibility of working with other teams; you’re never tied to your own department. If you’re interested in dev work, for example, you can participate cross-functionally with the engineering team. Now that we’re a family of brands, we can also branch out to our sibling softwares, Certify and Nexonia!

What makes Tallie different from other companies?

I really enjoy that every day is different. There is always something new to learn. We are exposed to so many softwares that we become masters of not just our own product but all of our partner integrations too. Giving us expertise and insight into all of these products allows us to help our clients above and beyond.

First screen name?

VitaBee4ever and it still is.

How many countries have you been to?

Nine and counting! Mexico, Cuba, Iceland, Canada, Japan, and Italy to name a few.

Which one was your favorite?

Japan. It was so different from anywhere I’ve ever been. I also loved France for how romantic it was. The southern coast of France is so beautiful.

We heard you did quite a bit of karaoke in Japan. Do you have a favorite song?

Life on Mars by David Bowie. Because if you’re not a very good singer you still sound like a pro. Least favorite: Pork and Beans by Weezer (don’t ask).

Where do you want to travel next?

Back to Mexico! My family is from there, and I want to experience it as an adult. A pilgrimage to the motherland, if you will. Chile and Argentina are also on my list.

Favorite Bay Area restaurant?

A16 in Rockridge and The Hideout in Lafayette.

What is an Instagram account people should be following?

Poorly drawn lines and Ketnipz.

What is your advice for women interested in pursuing a career in tech?

Go for it. I believe women should absolutely pursue careers in tech. There is a stigma that tech has a bro culture, but I wholeheartedly believe there’s an equal space for women. Women should shouldn’t be afraid to dive into more technical roles and fundamentals like SQL. I think Tallie has done a great job of giving those opportunities to women. A lot of our employees started in support and have been able to move into more technical roles.

What is one question you wish you were asked in an interview?

How would you explain email to your grandma?

Ready to say “goodbye” to manual data entry and “hello” to seamless, deep integrations with your favorite accounting systems? Use Tallie’s powerful expense management software FREE for 14 days – no credit card or commitment required. Give it a try by signing up today. Care for a walkthrough by a trained expert first? Contact us to schedule your free Tallie product demo now.

Tallie is business expense report automation software designed to simplify expense management process, from point of purchase all the way through accounting and reimbursement. Advanced tools provide powerful integration with leading accounting & bill pay solutions, as well as precision control over approval processes and policy compliance.